
Class ^ ^l^S 

Book: \^iS 



R E D, W H I T E A N D B L U E; 

i- .<^/t TaixcA t7x /^iVkJ /> f /-i^ Z*-^)^ ^^^ 2VC-S "/ 

A SHORT TREATISE 



ON A 



SUBJECT OF GREATER IMPORTANCE 



TO THE 



PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



THAN 



\>'y THAT HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO THEM 



SINCE THE 



DECLARATION OF IN^E 




This pamphlet should be in the hands of every voter within the limits of our wide 
extended country ; but as the author is unable, individually, to bear the expense 
of publishing and distributing it so widely, gratis, he had concluded to attach 
a small price to the work to reimburse his expense. 

ORDERS DIRECTED TO 

ISlXJjMI^ORD & CO., 

Nos. 38 and 40 A77est Fourth Street Cincinnati, 

No. 29 Ce'lar Street, Nashville, 

No. 315 Main Street, Memphis, 

I'ROMiPTljY ATXEISTDICD TO. 



Pn£«5, Wkolesale, ^00 per Hundred. 



. Eiilered according to Act of Congress, in tlie 3'ear 1862, by 

JOHN F. SMITH, 

Id tlie Clerk's Office of tlie District Court for tho Southern District of Ohio. 




I 



THE IMPENDING CRISIS 

IS UPON CS, AND 

THE IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT HAS COMMENCED. 



THE CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES 

TO BE 

REMOVED FROM THE ILL-LOCATED 

AND 

IDESECRA-TED DISTRICT OW COLXJIVIBIA, 

TO A LOCATION IN THE MIDST 
OF THE 

GrRE^T VAIjI-.E:Y of THE IVIISSISSIPFI, 
A NEW DISTRICT, 

TO BE 

CALLED WASHINGTON, 

AND 

THE CITY PROPER, EMPIRE CITY. 

t •• 



CONTENTS. 



A TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW 

OF WASHINGTON DISTRICT AND ITS SURROUNDINGS, 

AND 

PLANS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SAME ; 

TOGETHEE 

WITH VALUABLE MISCELLANEOUS MATTER 

OF INTEREST TO EVERY CITIZEX OF THE I'MON, 

AND 

ESPECIALLY TO CAPITALISTS, NATAL A^'D MILITARY PROFESSORS, RAILROAD MEN, 
AND POLITICAI. ECONOMISTS. 



RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 



TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. 

Passing events foreshadow the necessity for coming results, therefore, 
capitalists and political economists, prepare for the " impending crisis" 
rvnd "irrepressible conflict," the coining of which is but a question of 
time. Come it must and will, not to divide the Union, but to rivet in. 
the centre with iron bands that shall forever bind in indissoluble bonds 
of mutual interest, and in reciprocal fraternity, the sons of the sires of 
8eventy-six, whether in the North, South, East or West. This will be 
the final result of this national conflict. This can only be done by locat- 
ing the capital of this Nation (in a district to be called Washington) 
near the geographical centre — where the topography of the country in- 
dicates, as the future centre of the population of this Union. In this 
centre the S2nril of Washington will ever dwell — it being evident that it 
has partially forsaken the desecrated, unseemly walls of the present capital 
— although all desire that his spirit may dwell with, and his example 
be considered the guiding star of, our statesmen. 

To find this national centre we have but to cast our eyes upon the 
map of the United States, and it will evidently fall upon the highland 
delta near the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers ; hence the 
importance of selecting this point as the Metropolis into which capital, 
talent and patriotism should flow, and prepare the way for the coming 
result, the Emporium of the Nation, located in its centre, to be the politi- 
cal rivet and glory of a United Nation — equally ambitious to promote 
and adorn their common centre, and make this the Queen City, — the 
wonder of nations. 

It is a fact that all must admit, that in a strategical point of view, our 
capital is badly located, and occupies an unsafe position — which fact has 
been demonstrated by its once having been almost destroyed by foreign 
invasion ; and that at this time it requires the greatest effort to protect 
it from destruction by traitors in arms against the Federal Authority. 
Therefore wisdom would suggest its removal from among the disloyal 
inhabitants, who now surround it, to a more central position, in the 

(v) 



6 RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 

midst of a popu]atioii Avho are able and willing to protect it — a people 
whose minds are more congenial witli the Constitntion and the free in- 
stitutions wliich it protects. In the archives at Washington are inval- 
itable pnlilic documents and records, which if once destroyed could not 
be replaced, besides our Patent Office records and models, Avhich would 
be an irreparable loss, not only to our own government, but to the whole 
civilized world with whom we have diplomatic or commercial inter- 
course. Nothing therefore could compensate us for the destruction of 
our capital, and the loss of our archives. Not all the gold of Ophir, or 
of all the world, could repair our loss. Yet there are some who object 
to the removal of the capital on account of the expense it would neces- 
sitate ; but they should consider the immense expense it has been, and 
may ever be, to protect it in its present locality ; although the present 
rebellion may be put down, yet the germ will still remain to unite with 
any power that may try to overthrow our Government and destroy our 
capital ; besides, the cost of removal would be but a change of the po- 
sition of the people's money ; it would soon revert back to thenr by the 
wa}' of remuneration for the vast amount of labor required in the erec- 
tion of a new capital — besides, it would cause the development of the 
resources of a vast territory radiating therefrom, Avhich is now lying 
in its primitive state. In consideration of these facts, it is believed that 
the removal of our capital will at no distant day become a necessity, 
Avhile the buildings now occupied could be converted into a Marine 
Hospital, Military School, or used for some scientific purpose. 

The following work upon the foregoing grand project, may at first 
sight have the appearance of having originated from motives of mere 
pecuniary speculation ; but such is not the fact, and we appeal to those 
intimately acquainted with the originator, and his connection with this 
national project, to contradict such an opinion. 

It is true that our plan incidently indicates how great speculation may 
be made by individuals and associations. Yet it will be perceived that 
our whole plan is proper with regard to the selection, and suitable im- 
provement, of a site in a proper location upon which to erect our future 
capital. Therefore let the mind of the reader of this work be directed 
by the writer to this plan for removing the national capital to its suitable 
position in the geographical centre of the nation. In evidence of the 
writer's faith in the practicability of this national project, the following 
explanation is given. 

Having many years since selected the point, and in connection with 
others originated a plan and organized a company, we commenced opera- 
tions to bring about the desired result. That organization and its 



KED, WHITE AND BLUB. T 

operations having passed into other hands, since which, for want of pro- 
per direction, or from some other cause, it has come to a stand still. 

With a view to reawaken an interest and stimulate a union of action, 
I beg leave again to address the public, and to rehearse the reasons for 
" the faith that is in me." 

Although the writer has no pecuniary interest in this enterprise, at 
present, j'et the importance of the project makes it a subject to which 
his mind instinctively reverts, as though it were some favorite idea of 
his youth; his mind clings to it as his heart does to the old homestead, 
in remembrance of those happy hours which were whiled away in youth- 
ful aspirations. Therefore he begs to be excused for the length of this 
disconnected article, and asks indulgence more earnestly from the fact 
that it is in part, but a repetition of plans already laid down, and a re- 
hearsal of what has been said before on the same subject. We have 
thought that the ushering in of the year 18G0 would be a propitious 
time for renewing the public interest in the important subject, by arrang- 
ing preliminaries, thereby making a way for the introduction of the 
original plan. 

It is not only a propitious time, but one of great moment, particularly 
to those of us who, being on the downward side of life, are daily admonished 
by passing events, that whatever we have to do, we should be up and 
doing before the evening shades of life appear. 

Our present object is to attract the attention of those who are pecun- 
iarily interested, and to show them how plausible our ideas for oiganiz- 
ing the company, which was designed merely as the groundwork of some 
ultimate system for the success of our (at the time incognito) design. 
Many may be perfectly familiar with the subject, but all great schemes 
require agitation to aid in their development, before their being put into 
practical operation. We hope that those who have already been con- 
vinced of the importance of the plan, and also those whose interest has 
just been kindled, will exert all their influence to bring it before the 
public, for its investigation, which the progress of the age seems to de- 
mand. Such investigation was not essential when the project was in its 
incipient state, nor would it have been politic to make a full disclosure 
of all the plans, and their anticipated results, when carried out ; and 
now, even at this late day, we can but expect to subject ourselves to the 
sarcastic taunts and incredulous jeers of many, and perhaps our efforts 
will bring down upon us the thunder of the great guns around us, in 
the circle of circles of cities of which our location is the centre, but the 
harder the storm the sooner it will cease, and the louder the thimder the 
clearer the atmosphere after it. We must admit, how^ever, that the first 



8 BED, WHITE AND BLUE. 

conceptions of the enterprise were hardly definite enough to be sub- 
jected to criticism, as the plan was in an undeveloped state ; henre. the 
necessity of organizing the " Emporium Company," partially incognito, 
as an advancing step toward the formation of the " Union Company," 
through which we expected to ultimately accomplish our intentions, by 
laying the foundation of a city upon a plan anticipating its future great- 
ness to be commensurate with the importance of the point of location : and in 
connection with this to select a site, which will probably be upon high- 
lands in the vicinity of "Mound City" (the name given to St. Louis and 
numerous other villages in the West) ; hence the name should be changed 
to "Emporium" or "Empire City," as the final location of the metro- 
polis of the United States. This declaration of the original design, that 
of removing the capital, will doubtless take many by surprise, even in 
the midst of those years of progress ; and how much more preposterous 
would it have appeared to have made such a declaration at the first con- 
ception of the enterprise. But many are the changes that have taken 
place since then, not only as regards life and death, but in the political 
world, and also with respect to the advancement made in the arts and 
sciences, by which advancement the inexhaustible resources of our vast 
country is developed, and especially the riches of the "great West." 
At the time we first thought of making the selection of this position 
(in 1836) as the seat of our enterprise, it was consiilered on the frontier, 
or outskirts of civilization ; but look at it now ; how many vast territories 
have baen formed and populated since that time ; not only the East, 
i)ut the North, South and West are teeming with inhabitants, thus 
forming around us a circle, and creating us the geographical centre of 
the territory of the United States, and topographically in the centre of 
the greatest valley in the world. So fsir as regards its capacity to sustain 
a dense population, this is evident when we reflect on its great mineral 
and its inexhaustible agricultural resources, its many facilities for ingress 
and egress, both natural and artificial, by which its imports and vast ex- 
ports are conveyed, that it is unequalled, and its other facilities give it 
advantages not possessed by any other valley or site on the globe. The 
knowledge of these features must have a tendency to attract and keep up 
the flood of western emigration, now pouring toward us, as the mighty 
avalanche comes tearing down the mountain side, or the gieat ocean 
waves rolls on, whose crest is only broken by its contact with the lofty 
mountains of the West, or by its meeting in its path a similar gigantic 
wave rolling in from the great Pacific ; thence vibrating back, we find 
the momentum of this great political machine in the centre of a vast 
basin upon those inland seas, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi 



KED, WHITE AND BLUE. ' - "9 

rivers,-— the emporium of the rivers of the West, which make an un- 
interrupted communication by water with the outer world. Thus, this 
city will virtually become the central seaport of one of the mighiest em- 
pires the world has ever known, whose inhabitants will be numbered by 
millions, who will form around this centre a mighty bulwark of intelli- 
gent beings, which all the combined force of the "Old World," with 
the prowess of England, would not be sufficient to break through or 
destroy. England has once almost annihilated our capital and de- 
stroyed our public property, and, for ought we know, it may be done 
again, hence the propriety of the change. Should it not be the pride 
of the nation to establish the " seat of the General Government " at the 
point which will be the heart of the population of this nation ? Econ- 
omy demands the removal to this place, as it is yet almost in its primi- 
tive state, and capable of the greatest improvement ; it is true, that, to 
locate our capital in the centre of our territory, from East to West, we 
would have to go some distance further West ; but when we take into 
consideration the immense ranges of unhabitable mountains, salt lakes, 
and sandy plains of the West, we may safely aver, that the centre of 
the population will never extend west of our selected location ; topogra- 
phically, it is the centre of the line uniting the North and South, and 
being near the 37th degree North Latitude, it is removed equally from 
the extreme heat of the South and the intense cold of the North ; is sur- 
roimded by a vast body of moving waters, from which arise a breeze, 
having the general effect of a sea breeze, modifying the summer heat, 
so that our city and the vicinity of our selected location, has the most 
salubrious climate on the continent, and while many of the delicious 
southern fruits can be produced here, those hardier productions of the 
north grow in profusion, thus forming a variety of northern plentitude 
and southern luxuriance, to satisfy the cravings and beautify the habita- 
tions of man.- 

Then, does not wisdom as well as political economy suggest the ne- 
cessity of a change, and as a preliminary step, the propriety of estab- 
lishing a national military and naval depot, together with a national 
foundry, armory and navy-yard, where our national vessels might be 
constructed in safety in time of war, and with economy at all times, as 
there is a greater abundance of accessible material here then at any other 
point in the Union ; besides, we have here extraordinary facilities for 
the transit of naval and military stores in any direction by rivers, rail- 
roads or canals. The proper location for these establishments is on the 
Ohio, just below the grand chain, where are all the requisites for a navy- 
yard, as depth of water, &c. But it is unnecessary to set forth these 



10 RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 

facts as inducements for the establishment of these institutions, as 
there is no intelligent man, who, if he will but cast his eye on the map, 
or a thought on the subject, but must adiiiit that the time will come ere 
long, when the West will not only ask for them, but the people will de- 
mand and enforce their establishment in their midst. This result is fore- 
shadowed by passing events (the prowess of our western army included); 
admitting this to be a fact, should it not admonish those who would 
fight against the project, (impelled by local or sectional prejudice,) that 
they were only wasting their energies ; they are only desecrating those 
things which were calculated to increase the happiness, not only of them- 
selves, but of other generations. Those things being brought about and 
governed by a law that must prove their efforts to oppose them abortive, 
we will now speak of our project in a more local point of view, and 
give a few outlines of the plans as contemplated and intended by the 
originators, to be carried out by the proposed Union Company, and to 
add a few desultory remarks. First, the preparation of the city site. 
To prepare the city site and to guarantee the health of the surrounding 
country, there should be a system of internal improvements adopted 
which would entirely drain the swamps and lagoons which lay along 
the base of the adjacent bluffs, and convert them into open canals ; this 
would be a surety for the health of the country, and in connection with 
the irapi'ovement of Cash river and the lagoons thence to " Big Bay 
creek," Avould add much to our already extended inland navigation. 
This system of improvement will no doubt be adopted throughout the 
"Mississippi Valley," as a general system for internal improvement in 
the river bottoms. 

THE PROPOSED CUT OFF, AND ITS EFFECT. 

The most important of the changes which we have been considering, 
is a proposed cut off from the east or Illinois shute of Bernam's (alias 
English) Island, in the Mississippi river, hence along the base of the 
highlands, thi-ough Horse-shoe lake. Goose pond, and crossing Cash river 
forming a junction with the Ohio, at the base of the primitive highland at 
or near the mouth of Cash river, which is about five miles above the 
junction at Cairo. (For the position and direction see the eye view 
map of the location, compiled by R. C. Philips, C. E., and now in the 
hands of the Emporium Company or the originators. The legality of 
the said improvements or any questions with regard to them, will be 
answered satisfactorily in the details of the plan which was heretofore 
mentioned as having been published.) The land spoken of, as included 



RED, WHIfE AND BLUE. 11 

in this cut off, is a depression, averaging twenty odd feet below high water 
mark, and was no doubt occupied by the river, (or lake, and as some 
very reasonably suppose that the whole bottom was once a chain of lakes 
occupying the whole valley thence to the Southern gulf,) the proposed 
cut off would only be diverting a portion of the river into its original 
channel, washing the base of the high lands on the Illinois side, the ex- 
cavation for the cut off Avould be no more than that required for a com 
mon ditch, a proper grade for a landing, on the upper or city side, from 
above high to low water, by which to procure material sufficient to 
level up the front street to a proper grade above high water. The land- 
ing on the city side should be paved before the water is let in at the 
head of the ditch, after which it will get vent by cutting on the opposite 
side, and soon regain its natural Avidth, after which it would quit cutting, 
and become calm and quiet, as is demonstrated by all cuts heretofore 
made. Besides, it would be comparatively narrow and deep, as is shown 
by the shutes on the river, where they are straight, as the cut would be, 
and especially so, where there is a permanently graded shore, as it should 
have in such cases, they never fill np, neither will the water cut or cave 
a graded shore, there being no boil or swirl in the water, as there would 
be in the case of a bluff. The distance from the junction at Cairo to 
the head of the shute, above the cut off, by way of the main river, is 
forty miles, and to the same point from the Ohio, by the cut off (in- 
cluding the Horse-shoe lake, a part of Cash river, and three miles ot 
Bernam's shute, is but eighteen miles ; therefore, from where the water 
leaves the main channel of the Mississippi until it would obtain the 
level of the Ohio river, by way of the cut off, would be eighteen miles 
instead of forty, as it now is, hence, we may aver that if the water 
were once let into the cut, it would never leave it, nor would it effect 
the main channel, as the bottom of the river is composed of rocks, where 
the shutes divide the channel of the river, being about equally divided 
by the grand chain of rocks and Bernam's Island, — therefore the cut off 
would be but an extension of the island shute, which would give two 
channels from the grand chain out into the Ohio, instead of one, thus 
creating a greater vacuum to receive any surplus water, and therefore 
there will be less liability of the overflowing the island thus formed, 
from back water, or any other cause ; besides, it would give boats a 
chance to avoid the present dangerous channel — the terror of boatmen, 
who have given it the name of "steamboat grave-yard." 

The opposite, or Kentucky side, having the same character and system 
of swamps and lagoons, therefore, in addition to making this cut off, the 
timber should be removed from the sloughs, which extends from the 



12 BED, WHITE AJ^D BLUE. 

Ohio back to those lakes which lay along the base of the highlands in 
Kentucky, opposite where the cut off from the Mississippi would enter 
the Ohio. The water of the Ohio, when high, runs with great velocity 
through these sloughs into the lakes, and from thence into the Mississippi 
below Cairo, hence, the first flood (after the timber has been cut,) would 
form a channel in that direction, ready to receive the water, as it 
would be forced over by the operation of the cut off, and the sediment 
thrown off by its working would fill up the Ohio below, and thereby 
form a barrier which would force the Ohio over to the Kentucky side, 
as the Mississippi does at their present junction, and the same operation 
would fill the bed of the Ohio, u]3 to high water mark, from the cut 
off down to the present junction, thereby reclaiming about six sections 
of land, now occupied by the Ohio, and leave Cairo permanently situ- 
ated on an island instead of being washed away, (as some suppose would 
be the case, provided the cut off was made.) Cairo would then be of 
more value than now ; even if filled up and secured from overflow, it 
would not be a desirable place, standing on a quicksand delta for months 
at a time, from six to nine miles from dry land — it would then be in the 
vicinity of a city or cities, which would certainly spring up above the 
cut off, as if by magic. This would be but one of the good results, for the 
Ohio, making its way through to the lakes, would make a landing against 
the highlands on the Kentucky shore, nearly opposite the city on the 
Illinois side, and thereby present a site for a city on that side of the 
river, which would be improved by southern capital and people, who 
would not reside in Illinois, but would improve it by their capital, and 
assist in developing the resources to the mutual advantage of all con- 
cerned. Here, too, the Southerner could reside with his family, and yet 
transact business in the capital, as the two cities can be conveniently 
connected by steam ferry-boats or railroads upon bridges ; the same re- 
sults would be produced on the Missouri side of the river, the beautiful 
high lands from the bridge crossing at Commerce, thence to the crossing 
at Cape La Croix, would soon be occupied by cities, and these, in connec- 
tion with Cape Girardieu, would stand in the same relation to the capital 
as Brooklyn does to New York, or Covington and Newport to Cincin- 
nati. All this would increase the value of Cairo property, which would 
chiefly be occupied by manufacturing operators, agriculturists and horti- 
culturists, who would have access to the above named city by the 
railroad, which it would be necessary to retain from Cairo up to the 
cut off. Besides, the island formed by the cut off would soon become 
so valuable as to pay for grading the front bank back, and thus forming 
a levee which would protect the whole from overflow. 



KED, WHITE AND BLUE, 13 

When the cut off was made, we would then have a site for a city, with 
a permanent front on the "Mississippi up to Rock Island, a distance of 
twenty miles by way of the cut off, sixteen miles of which would be 
perfectly straight ; this improvement would bring the rivers together at 
right angles, and the front on the Ohio would be permanent to an indefi- 
nite extent, indicating the propriety of changing the city plat back to 
the original plan for Emporium, which was to make the cut off the 
base line, or starting point, for the city plan, and from thence throughout 
the blufls. When Cash bar and America point are removed, (which will 
soon take place, as the gravel, boulders and sand of which they are com- 
posed, would be in great demand,) the front on the Ohio would then be 
straight for eight miles, then a slight angle of four miles to the bridge- 
crossing at the grand chain, which would give the fi-ont on the Ohio a 
slight crescent form, the harbor would then have an uninterrupted stream 
for a distance of twelve miles, of deep water, to the foot of the grand 
chain, (or bridge-crossing,) more than one half of which is deep enough 
for the largest ships to be moored so close to the shore at low water as 
to be able to put out an ordinary staging, and at the same time be pro- 
tected from the north-west storms by the bluffs upon which the upper 
part of the city would stand. 

Considering the many advantages of this point, we can see what 
might be realized in a very short time, by the plans prepared for a Union 
Company, which was intended to commence a city at the foundation, 
and build upward, instead of beginning at the top and building in the 
opposite direction, as Cairo and Mound City have been built. Nature 
has been lavish in her munificent bestowal of her advantages ; but, as 
usual, she has left a portion of work for man to do, that he may be an 
active being : this is the case in that location, and it will be necessary 
to commence and carry on the work systematically, if we would expect 
to reap the many advantages that are open to us. The next and most 
important question is, will it pay to make the improvements suggested 
for the Union Company ; we think they will pay so far as mental and 
physical enjoyments are concerned, and that should be the great aim of 
all our efforts. In the first place, we suppose the Union Company's 
plans to be carried out to a reasonable extent. Next, we take a glimpse 
at the fii-st nominal cost of the land and stocks obtained from the present 
companies, and the property in their possession, which should be placed 
in the hands of the Union Company at such a nominal price as to en- 
able them to have a reasonable profit in the first place, and to leave a 
sufficient margin for profit to those who would subscribe the twenty mil- 
lions cash capital, named in the proposed charter. The great profit to be 



14 BED, WHITE AND BLUB. 

anticipated fromthe union combination. Cairo being included in the expense, 
we have sliown that, although its value might depreciate in the first 
place, (by the cut being made,) yet it would soon recover first cost by 
the operations of the company, and we believe it would increase in 
value ; the next great expense would be the cut off, which would be about 
equal to that of one or two miles of some of our northern or eastern 
canals (including their locks and dams) ; it would not l)e equal to that 
of some of the dykes across the channel at Bloody Island opposite St. 
Louis. But, cost what it may, it should be made at the expense of the 
State and the General Goverment, in view of the advantage it would be, 
both to the State, and the public at large, by giving to boatmen the 
chance to avoid forty miles of navigation, (including the steamboat 
grave-yard,) wherein there has been more lives lost and property de- 
stroyed than in any other piece of navigation of the same extent, and in 
a shorter time, than was known to happen before. But if done at the 
expense of the city or company, they should have the privilege by char- 
ter to a special wharfage tax, until they had received ten per cent, above 
a full remuneration for the time the money runs. The paving of the 
landing along the cut off would not cost more at first than last, nor 
more than necessary to make a landing under ordinary circumstances ; 
therefore an ordinary wharfage tax would soon cover the whole expense 
of the cut off; it would only have to go three feet below low water mark, 
to have as much, or as great a depth of water as there is in the main 
channel on the bars or crossings below where the cut off leaves it. 

With regard to the anticipated profits, we believe, that with our plans 
carried out, that over and above what may be derived from the opera- 
tions of the company, in their manufacturing, banking and other busi- 
nesses, the real estate will approximate so near to that of Cincinnati 
and St. Louis, that it will bear comparison with those places, therefore, 
we give a few facts in regard to the three places, from which every person 
can draw their own inference. In Cincinnati and St. Louis, lots fronting 
the main landing, and running back ninety feet to an alley, are worth a 
thousand dollars per front foot; they are frequently submerged by floods, 
and at best, their sidewalks are narrow, and their landings contracted, 
and inadequate to the transaction of a large business. On the other hand, 
the plan for the city, as prepared for the "Union Company," would be 
as follows : the foundation of the city to rest upon a complete system of 
sewers, which shall have capacity to carry off the drainage, not only of 
the city proper, but that of the whole " Washington District." Large 
sewers should be erected under each front street, running parallel with 
the respective rivers, and to extend eventually from the upper boundary 



BED, WHITE AND BLUE. 15 

of the district, fronting on the rivers, thence to their junction — these 
sewers to be of sufficient capacity to carry of the flow from all the lat- 
eral sewers, and discharge the whole at the junction of the rivers, or 
lower point of the landing, thus preventing the deposit of tilth in front 
of the city, which would otherwise become stagnant in warm weather and 
low water. Such is the case with the Thames river of England, being at 
times almost unendurable from the stench which arises from it, owing to 
the deposit of filth in front of the city of London. To carry out the 
system of sewerage proposed, it would be necessary to ascertain the 
amount of surface drainage each sewer will have to carry off; — they 
should be so erected that the top of the arch would not be less than 
eight feet below the curb of the sidewalk, so that cellars, sinks and 
baths could be drained by pipes leading into them, instead of the present 
system of expensive and deep sinks, often productive of accident and 
death. The earth excavated from the sewers could be used in raising 
the streets, where needed, ami filling out the landing, thereby saving the 
expense of carrying it from a greater distance. 

With an eye to these improvements, as set forth, and as the original 
plan of the city is to be fully carried out, it will be necessary to make 
a topographical survey of the city,, and of the entire district, so that 
the present plans of the city, towns or villages, within the proposed dis- 
trict, may be changed to the original plan intended for our future capital. 
Therefore, the survey should locate all public establishments, including 
city, county and government grounds, all within the regular order of 
the city ; all would then be bounded by highways, besides it would save 
the removal hereafter of expensive establishments, cemeteries included. 

In making the grade of the city, the front should be raised above high 
water, wherever needed, from which the general grade is carried through- 
out the bluffs. The lots fronting either river to run back two hundred 
feet to De Soto avenue, which is one hundred feet wide, running parallel 
with the Mississippi river, and to Fulton avenue, running parallel with 
the Ohio river, of the same width ; the sidewalks to be twenty feet 
wide ; the landings to be not less than five hundred feet wide to low wa- 
ter, this gives our city great local advantages over other cities. We will 
now give a little further in detail of the plan contemplated for the pro- 
posed Union Company. The front or the first tier of lots, as before 
mentioned, run back two hundred feet to an avenue one hundred feet 
wide, the second tier extends from the said avenue back, a distance of 
one hundred and fifty feet, to an alley twenty-nine and one-half feet wide. 
The third tier runs one hundred and fifty feet from the said alley to an 
avenue ninety feet wide. This applies to the front on both rivers, and is 



16 RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 

intended for general business blocks. We will now give a brief sketch 
of the general plan, which is intended to be carried out to an indefinite 
extent (except where interrupted for special purposes) ; commencing be- 
yond the last mentioned avenue, and extending either way — the squares 
are five hundred and fifty-two feet square, containing nine and one-third 
acres, including highways; each of these squares is to be divided into four 
parts by courts running to the centre at right angles ; said courts are 
thirty-six feet wide from the front entrance, back one hundred and twenty 
feet, (that being the depth of the lots fronting the streets and avenues,) 
to the eighteen feet alleys, which subdivide the blocks into sixteen squares, 
giving to each lot an alley of eighteen feet ; said courts to expand from 
thirty-six feet at the entrance to sixty feet in the interior, on which lots 
of thirty-six feet width, front, and run back one hundred and eight feet 
to the eighteen feet alley, from thence to Avenue or Front street, one 
hundred and twenty feet. The streets in the general plat are eighty feet 
wide, every third one being an avenue ninety-five feet wide. The squares 
are numbered in ranges, the numbers of the ranges running up the cut 
off, or Mississippi — and the squares in the ranges are numbered running 
up the Ohio. The lots are numbered only in the squares : every fifth 
square at right angles, is a market or school, alternately — the furthest 
point being four and a half squares from market or school, and an open 
square or park, equal distance from each, in the centre of a square of 
public squares, formed by the school and market squares. The market 
squares are the centre of the wards, and the school squares the centre of 
the school district. Nine squares make a fraction over a mile, including 
highways ; each square contains thirty-six lots, fronting on streets and 
avenues, and twelve, fronting on interior courts, making forty-eight lots 
in each square, and four hundred and ninety-three in each one hundred 
acres. The second and third tier, each contains five hundred and twenty- 
eight feet front, available for sale ; in the general plat, each square con- 
tains fourteen hundred and foi-ty feet, fronting on broad streets, and 
also four hundred and thirty-two feet, facing the sixty feet courts, in 
all, eighteen hundred and seventy-two feet front, available for sale in 
each square, or about ten times as much for every hundred acres, leaving 
a surplus for large public squares besides. The following inducements 
are held out to those who subscribe to the capital stock, by which to 
encoui'age business men, mechanics and manufacturers. Every subscriber 
to the capital stock of the Union Company, (except organized govern- 
ments, chartered companies and associations.) shall be entitled to certi- 
ficates of stocks for four shares, (at one hundred dollars each,) up to 
twenty, and for each fifth share, out of twenty, they shall receive a 



RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 17 

certificate, or title bond for one city lot, in the general plan of the city. (For 
the mode of drawing for the lots, see the detail of j^lans for the further 
improvement of Emporium, [alias Mound City,] in. the Jiands of the 
originators.) Suppose such subscriber to take five iw jw h i ' GO each; one 
square, containing nine and one-third acres, would supply forty-eight sub- 
scribers with one lot each, producing a cash subscription for the company 
of twenty-four thousand dollars, out of which to pay for the nine and one- 
third acres, or one million six hundred and forty five thousand six hundred 
and twenty-three dollars, out of which to pay for each section, or twenty 
million dollars to about twelve sections. Now, in selling, the company 
have five hundred and thirty feet for sale in each of the squares, facing 
either river, counting nothing for their front on De Soto or Fulton avenue, 
which is one hundred feet wide ; count, then, at any nominal price, and 
you have this product. In the general plan, commencing at the third 
tier, we find eighteen hundred and seventy-two feet, available for sale, 
which at the lowest price for which land was sold at the public sale by 
the Emporium Company, which we believe was ten dollars a foot in 
each square — eighteen hundred seventy-two feet, at ten dollars a foot, 
would give 818,720, or per acre, about $161,285, and per section, it would 
be $1,282,320. Now, suppose each subscriber has a family averaging 
five persons, and we have two hundred and forty inhabitants to the square, 
counting but five person on lots thirty-six, and forty feet front ; at that low 
estimate, we have sixteen thousand four hundred and forty inhabitants to a 
section. Now, it is plain to see, and easy to count, the profit at any nom- 
inal price ; with these facts and figures before us, can any one say that it 
will not pay to carry out the plans of the embryo Union Company. We 
think, that to consolidate those companies, together with a large portion 
of the district, would not only pay, in a pecuniary point, but would as- 
suredly bring about grand results, anticipated by the originators, nor 
need we look for their accomplishment only to the distant future. 

EFFECT OF THE CUT OFF, IN A PECUNIABY VIEW. 

As we have shown that Cairo would be Avorth, at least, first cost to 
the Union Company after the cut off would have been made, yet they 
conld afford to throw it to profit and loss, although it might depreciate 
a million of dollars, provided, they associate with them a sufficent num- 
ber of land-holders, and lands adjoining the Cairo and Emporium Com- 
panies' lands. They coidd afford, also, to purchase the piece of the Illi- 
nois Central Railroad, which would be cut off by the proposed improve- 
ment, although the railroad company could well afford to donate that to 
2 



18 RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 

the Union Company, in ovcle)' to get clear of kee^iing up the nine miles 
of tressle-work and deep fill ; besides, snch a city as would spring up by 
the improvement would throw millions of dollars into their pocket by 
the increase in the value of their property and business. This would be 
the effect it would have, proportionally, on all lands radiating from this 
point for many miles. 

Where, then, could there be any damage claimed on account of the 
cut off, when navigation would be improved by it without interfering 
Avith the other channel ? 

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CITY PLAT. 

Supposing the cut off to be made, the plat would be as follows : at 
the immediate point or junction we have a level plain of about three 
miles square, elevated from thirty-five to forty feet above low water. 
From this plain the land rises gradually back and up both rivers, until, 
at the distance of six miles, it attains the hight of two hundred and fifty 
or three hundred feet above high water. The three miles square at the 
junction, although low is permanent, and only part of it requires a slight 
fill to put it above the highest water, when it would be protected by the 
bluffs above. Its being low, makes it convenient for commercial pur- 
poses, therefore, we will give it the name of Commercial District. Upon 
the highlands we have the proper location for manufacturing, thus, the 
topography would indicate two manufacturing districts, one on the high- 
lands fronting on each river. Between these, and bordering on both 
sides of the Cash river, we have what would appropriately be called a 
rural district ; and the whole, as indicated by the topography of the 
country, should be brought under the same survey, taking in a part of 
Pulaski and Alexander counties, which should be united so as to form 
the proposed Washington District. This plat is bounded on more than 
two sides by the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and divided near the centre 
by Cash river, running from north-east to south-west, and giving to the 
plat two summits, one between the Cash, and each of the other rivers, by 
an acute angle in the Mississippi, and presenting a plat, not only of beauti- 
ful scenery, but of great convenience in regard to harbors and sewerage, 
which is a guarantee for health. 

The boundry of Washington District should be defined by a line start- 
ing at the junction of the cut off with the Ohio, running thence with 
tlie cut off and Mississippi to the head of the grand chain. Here, the 
river and highlaiids turn abruptly to the north-east, or parallel to the 
Ohio, for a distance of six or eight miles, thus forming a delta of 



RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 



i9 



primitive highlands, nearly equal in width for several miles. Therefore, 
the topography defines the proper bounds for Washington District; hence, 
the line should continue from the head of the grand chain, north-east 
about fifteen or twenty miles, thence in a line at right angles to the Ohio, 
at the grand chain of that river, thence down the Ohio to the place of 
beginning ; thus forming Washington out of parts of Pulaski and Alex- 
ander counties. The territory thrown out of those counties, might be 
joined to those adjoining, or with parts thereof, form a new one. 

MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY IN REGARD TO THE DISTRICT. 

The Municipal Authority of the city proper, should extend over the 
whole district, except so much as may be occupied by the United States 
Government, at least so far as internal improvements are concerned, so 
that there would be uniformity in the improvements extending from the 
city throughout the district. 

The large island formed by the cut off, on which is Cairo, should be 
under a distinct goverment, as it would soon become, as it were, a little 
principality of itself, as the inhabitants would chiefly be wealthy agri- 
culturists and horticulturists. 

The grand chain of rocks crosses each river at the upper end of the 
city harbors, which gives a natural location for either suspension, piei- 
or pivot bridges ; and this is the only practicable point for railroad brid- 
ges to cross the Ohio below the Cumberland river, or the Mississippi 
below the mouth of the Missouri. An air line from Cleveland on Lake 
Erie to Little Eock, Ark., would pass a little south of Cairo ; hence, the 
grand chain is the only practicable bridge-crossing near that line, and 
the proper route for all the railroads north-east and south-west, is to unite 
here ; thence to Little Rock, Ark., to Marshall, Texas, thence west 
on the thirty-second parallel to El Paso, at the junction of the Colorado 
and Gila rivers, terminus, San Diego, with a branch from some point 
between La Puerta and Tubac to Guymas, on the Gulf of California. 
This is the only proper crossing for the Southern Pacific Railroad, and 
the railroad, via Cape Girardieu and the Iron Mountain to Oregon and 
California (this road completed, we have a nearei- communication with 
the Iron mountains than St. Louis,); but it is a natural depot for the 
whole system of railroads north and south of the Ohio and east and west 
of the Mississippi. And the rirer below here, being unobstructed, gives 
free navigation from thence to the gulf throughout the year. It is plain 
then, that this point is not only the natural emporium for railroads and 
rivers ; but being located at the southern base of all the mineral lands 



20 BED, WHITE AND BLUE, 

in this basin, it must become the seat of manufactures and commerce, 
and be the emporium for the capital of this continent, as London is to the 
world. It will be the half-way house upon the highway between the 
the eastern and the western world. We have California and Oregon as 
our western depot, from which to distribute to this interposit, the man- 
ufactured articles and agricultural produce of this garden of the world to 
all the islands of the Pacific and the nations of the east. It stands in 
the same position between north and south, and New Orleans and Cuba 
will be our southern depots. It is evident then, judging by natural laws, 
that this point, if the improvements are properly commenced, will be- 
come one of the great commercial emporiums and distributing cities of 
the world. 

POLITICAL POSITION. 

Political position is equally important ; it is the pivot and key between 
the North and South, and is located in a State which will become ere 
long the Keystone State in the Federal Arch of the Union, and the con- 
servative platform, on which all may stand ; and more especially will this 
be the case, if (from considerations of economy, or as may be the result 
of the present conflict,) the large plantations in the south should be sub- 
divided into smaller farms as in the North ; then we may safely predict 
that they would soon be occupied by a dense population of intelligent 
voters, equaling in numbers those of the north, thereby giving our point 
the political balance between North and South, East and West. 

With its system of bridges and railroads, the Northern and Southern 
States will be bound together not only Avith bands of iron, but with the 
indissoluble bonds of commerce, social intercourse, and fratenial feeling. 
Could we but see through the mystic future, we might yet see enacted 
here the great political drama, that will not only sway the destinies of the 
continent, but become more than dust in the balance of the political 
scale by which to weigh the mighty kingdoms of the earth. 

A TOPOGRAPHICAL VIEW OF WASHINGTON DISTRICT AND ITS SUR- 
ROUNDINGS. 

A correct view of the surrounding country from an imaginary point 
in the proposed district, with a vision of the future, to be realized by 
carrying out our plans for a Union Company. We will suppose the capi- 
tol buildings to be situated on one of the summits below the bridge-cros- 
sings in Washington District, and fronting on one of the rivers. Imagine 
we ascend the dome of the capitol, from which we have a view in every 



RED, WHITE AND BLUE, 21 

direction, as far as the eye can reach, or a glass can carry it : to the north- 
west you liave a glimpse of Cape Girardieu, in the distance, with high 
rolling wood-land in the back ground, and the flourishing city standing 
out boldly on its rocky promontory, defying the floods of the mighty 
Mississippi, which sweep around the cape with resistless force, unchecked 
tintil it is dashed against the more beautiful Cape La Croix, of which we 
have a closer view, from behind which the river, although for some time 
hid behind the capes, now suddenly reappears, and sweeping round this 
bold, headland cape with a sudden turn, is dashed into foam, and di- 
vided midway by Rock Island, from thence it goes boiling on its mad- 
dened way in its rock-bound channel through the grand chain, by which 
it escapes only to be torn into tortuous shutes, divided by numerous 
tow-heads and islands, until once more calmed by its junction with the 
placid and beautiful Ohio. Turning from this grand view, we have, 
further to the north, a more extended view of the river, with its extensive 
bottoms spread out for miles in width, and interspersed with farms and 
miniature lakes, which, like mirrors, reflect back the rays of the noon- 
day sun. This grand whole is girt about with marble cliffs, and covered 
Avith their dark outline of stately forest trees, contrasted by clumps of 
evergreen clinging to their brow. They are seen stretching far away to 
the north, iintil the view is intercepted by Duncan's lofty island bluffs, 
in the vicinity of the natural Grand Tower and the Big Muddy river. 
Turning to the north-east, we see Cash river, although occasionally ex- 
panded into miniature lakes, it again contracts and passes through the 
highlands in the midst of Washington District, with a more rapid cur- 
rent in its serpentine course to the south-west, until lost in the "father 
of waters," (supposing the cut off to have been made,) just above the 
Commercial District. Further to the south-east we have a view of the 
more beautiful and expansive Ohio, with a glimpse of its great tribu- 
taries, the Cumberland and Tennessee, as they pour in their floods, as 
seen from the distance, with the beautiful cities located at their junction 
with the Ohio. We also see the intermediate towns and villages, to- 
gether with the beautiful cape upon which once stood the old fort Mas- 
sac. Glancing yet farther to the south, we see rising from the Ohio as 
an inclined plane — yet slightly undulating — the beautiful agricultural lands 
of Southern Kentucky, stretching away, not only as far as sight can go, 
bxit without a single mountain to intervene, the same face of country 
continues until lost in the southern gulf. Changing our position from 
south to south-west, we have a view of the emjiorium of rivers, as it 
sweeps far off on its majestic way to the southern gulf, its banks studded 
with towns and villages, its waters plowed by palatial steamers, which 



22 RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 

move upon its bosom like a thing of life, dashing its turbid waters into 
spray, as wonld the great Leviathan in the ocean depths. On the 
south-west we see a vast phiin from thirty to sixty miles wide, un- 
interrupted by hill or mountain, until intercepted by the St. Francis 
river, a distance of moi-e than two hundred miles. Here again on 
this vast plain, the eye rests upon extensive farms and silver lakes, 
which beneath the bright rays of the sun "lend enchantment to the 
scene," as he moves on his declining wa}', until lost to the view be- 
neath the western horizon. Here, too, we see the first link of the South- 
ern Pacific Railroad, (being the Cairo and Fulton Railroad,) west of the 
Mississippi, which will ere long become one of the highways of the na- 
tions of the earth, and already bears the iron horse, who goes dashing 
on his speedy westward course, despite the rivers, mountains and ever- 
lasting hills, ere long to make his descent upon the far off Pacific coast. 
Now, (imagining our plans carried out,) laying aside our glass, and cast- 
ing our eyes immediately about us, we see spread before us a vast city, 
bounded on almost three sides by those inland seas, Avhich now bear a 
a commerce equal to that of a great nation. Besides this, we see a vast 
network of railroads verging to, and entering the city at almost every 
point, [thereby shoiving the propriety of making a topogrcqyhical survey of 
the whole district, so that all the railroads may find their ingress to the city 
through the regularly located avenus, leading to a Union Depot for all,) here 
too, we see its broad capacious streets and shaded avenues, its com- 
modious market squares, uninterrupted by highways, its lai'ge and shady 
school-squares, with their airy recitation bowers, surrounded by the syl- 
van decorations of flowering trees and flowing fountains, its beautiful 
open squares and capacious public parks, with their broad drives and 
more private serpentine walks, their fish ponds and bathing pools, sur- 
rounded by forest trees and flowering shrubs, cooled by the spray from 
flowing fountains, and enlivened withal by the sportive gambols, chirp 
and chatter of the chip monk, squirrel, and the yet more beauteous notes 
sent forth by the various species of the feathered tribe ; her magnificent 
bridges, appearing like pencil marks in the distance, are thrown across 
the rivers, and their multitude of pedestrians passing to and fro, seem 
like one solid moving mass, often to be outstripped by the more fleetly 
moving iron horse, with long and swiftly gliding train ; her highways 
thronged with busy life, her levees lined, and harbors plowed, by crafts 
of various kinds, from the tall and gallant ship and mammoth steamers, 
down to the cumbrous raft, broad horn and barge, and to the frail, yet 
beauteous craft of the regatta, propelled by the flashing oar. Her 



RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 23 

numerous public buildings, of which her monuviental temple is not the least, 
it being intended as a jjerpetual endoivment for benevolent institutions. 

DESULTORY REMARKS. 

We acknowledge that the foregoing project is apparently a ponderous 
machine to be put in motion, and seemingly one far ahead of the times. 
It is calculated to subject us, as we are well aware it will do, to the 
taunts and jeers of many, who will view it as entirely impracticable, and 
in its modus o}^eyandi, visionary in the extreme, and perhaps they will 
believe it to be but the emanations of a disordered mind. Let that be 
our misfortune or not, we are led to believe that Providence has given 
man power over all material things, therefore, we know that our enter- 
prise is practical, at least so far as the organization and proposed im- 
provements are concerned, and also the consolidation of interests. The 
land and lot holders have nothing to fear, as they would not convey their 
land away until it should have been paid for. Should they take stock 
from the company as pay, in whole or in part, for their lands, they would 
receive a lot in the new company for every fifth share taken, the same 
as other subscribers ; the lot alone would be worth five hundred dollars, 
almost anywhere within the district ; besides, they would have to every 
five hundred dollars, four shares of stock in the company, all made valu- 
able by their participating in forming the consolidation. We have no 
doubt, that if such a consolidation could be effected, any required amount 
of stock would be subscribed to upon such a basis. We have the opinion 
of intelligent Germans, that the greater part of the capital stock would 
be subscribed to within the German States alone, upon our plan, and 
that too by industrious mechanics and manufacturers, together with a 
due proportion of agriculturists, who would come by thousands and 
settle in our city and throughout the surrounding country. Here then, 
is some encouragement to organize and consolidate the requisite interests 
on a secure basis, upon which to predicate the capital stock. This or- 
ganization could be effected by the appointment of the present officers 
of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, Cairo City, and Emporium 
Companies as commissioners or directors of the Union Company. For 
the first let them hold their respective positions in their several compa- 
nies, until requisite transfers have been made to the Union Company, 
and this company to receive all the assets requisite from the other com- 
panies, including all real estate and personal property, redeem all debts 
of the Cairo City and Emporium Companies, — including all stocks. 



24 RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 

bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness, and in lieu thereof, 
issue a like amount in the name of the Union Company. Great as is 
this project, yet, as before remarked, we believe it to be feasible. When 
we look back through the short space of ten years, and see the great re- 
sults brought forth within that time, notwithstanding the great finan- 
cial crisis we have passed through. How great have been the changes, not 
simply the moral and political, but the remarkable physical changes 
which have taken place immediately around us in that short time. With 
these great advantages to begin with in the year 1860, what may not be 
anticipated by the still more rapid advancement of the changing present; 
we may at least aver, that much greater results will be brought about 
before the midnight bell chimes forth the ushering in of the year 1870. 
How momentous that sound, and how short the period which elaspses till 
that time, in proportion to the changes which will undoubtedly take place, 
judging the future by the past. Although this is a general rule to judge 
by, yet it will not apply in full to all cases ; for instance, look at Cairo 
and Mound City. They have striven for the last generation to build a 
city from above downwards, and the result is, that they are still in 
the swamps and mud, where they landed more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury ago. By this, we may judge, if the present system be pursued, 
that after they have dragged out another generation in maintaining 
a miserable existence, we can only expect to find them still, as now, 
sticking in the mud, as their greatest efforts up to this time has only 
produced the importance of a railroad station, not even a depot, as 
the business is merely transferred from the road to the river, and vice 
versa, from the boat to the road. Now, as before remarked, without a 
change of programme, they must grope their way through the mud 
until another generation is wasted away, before they can expect to 
enjoy even tolerable comfort, from the fact, that it is morally impos- 
sible to have comfort and happiness without health ; and there can 
be no guarantee for health, until the plans for the Union Company 
are carried out, in regard to draining the neighboring swamps and 
lagoons. Without this, it is quite impossible to carry on successfully 
an extensive commercial and manufacturing business, notwithstand- 
ing they have extraordinary natural advantages and facilities in other 
respects. Here, then, arises an important question, which seems to re- 
volve itself into this, that upon the adoption and carrying out of the 
plans of the Union Company, depends the bnilding up and the per- 
petuity of a great city. This can not be accomplished by the present 
incumbents, as there will necessarily be an antagonism existing among 
them as long as their several local interests are separate, nor can any 



RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 25 

other parties interfere in the matter under existing circumstances, as the 
State has granted and guaranteed to each their separate rights, which 
covers the whole ground of our selected location for the operations of 
the embryo Union Company ; hence the necessity of organizing the 
Union Company out of the whole, by which their capital, energy and 
strength would be united, and spent together for the same object, backed 
by the State, as it certainly would be to the utmost, as by so doing, 
she would soon boast of the most splendid city that the world ever knew. 

But who is to get up the requisite organization, by which to con- 
solidate the several interests, by which alone the enterprise can be carried 
out ? The answer is plain, as it is evident that the lords of the land 
in Alexander and Pulaski counties must have the honor of laying the 
foundation of the gi'and enterprise. True, it will require influential men 
of other professions to get up the necessary forms of organization, and 
they should be men possessed of the requisite business capacity and at- 
tainments. Such men we have in our country, men who have not only 
the business qualifications, but possessed of wealth, political and mone- 
tary influence, together with that indomitable energy that would overcome 
the ice-barriers of the polar regions, or in mid-iointer scale the highest 
peak of the Rocky Mountains. Such men, if they would take hold, together 
with the lords of the land, might immortalize their names for all time to 
come, by carrying out this one among the grandest enterprises of the 
age. From present appearances we need not expect it to be done by the 
present incumbents, who are managing the several interests concerned, 
unless, indeed, they unite ; for they seem to be following in the footsteps 
of their predecessors, by which course they are rapidly wasting away 
the energies of the present generation, by trampling under foot the mag- 
nificent blessings which Providence has strewn around them ; nor have 
we any guarantee, that those who may supersede them will change the 
present policy, unless instructed to do so by their constituents, whose 
interests they have heretofore either not understood, or perhaps neglected 
for selfish motives. In this respect, we believe they have taken a short 
sighted view of their own interests, when they oppose a union of the 
several parties concerned in a new organization. 

True, the new organization might change the position of some, but 
certainly not displace them, as there are already provision made in the 
plan for the new company, by which they would retain their present 
position in the old companies until the expiration of the term for 
which they were elected or appointed ; besides, they would fill the offices 
in the new company until their first annual election, and then as a 
matter of course, they being posted in the business, would get the 



26 RED, WHITE AND BI.TJE. 

preference, if found worthy, especially as the change would create many 
new offices of trust. Perhaps some will object to the obligations required 
of officers in the new company, (see proposed charter,) but no honest 
man need fear, or refuse to take them, and rogues have no business with 
them; indeed, some such obligation is necessary to restore public con- 
fidence now almost lost in chartered companies. 

Now, we believe, we have shown in the foregoing, and conclusively, 
that without a union of interests there will continue to be an abuse and 
a misuse of the great advantages which nature has bestowed in so re- 
markable a degree upon that location. Now it depends on those who have 
the pecuniary interests at stake, to say whether they will fold their 
hands and remain inactive until the present generation passes away, or 
will they acknowledge their advantages from nature by a diligent use 
of the same. It is a great responsibility to incur, and should admon- 
ish those to whom it may apply, to consider how they use or abuse their 
trust. So far as regards this subject, they have certainly abused it ; now 
it remains for them to say, whether it shall continue as it is, or shall a 
city rise, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the old, and that with a rapidity 
that would astonish the Old World, (even in this progressive age.) It 
would stand in all its glory, having all the enjoyments required by man- 
kind, and appear before the world as youth and beauty in all its splen- 
dor, bearing blessings to bestow under the smiles of Divine Providence, 
not only on the present actors, but on the millions yet to come, who are 
as yet but the germ of future generations, who will come in due time to 
act in the sphere of the present. 

This great scheme should arrest the attention of all, as we believe it 
to be worthy the attention of the gretaest men of the Nation. With 
this belief we hope to see their action on this subject : to carry out 
such plans successfully men of great business capacity will be required, 
and the superintendence of it should be given to those who could look 
beyond mere personal and selfish motives, and who are possessed of 
comprehension and expansion of intellect, by which to grasp, at one view, 
the originality of the whole scheme, and to meet contingencies, as they 
must arise, before the completion of so great a project. We wish to 
introduce it as a great National scheme at this momentous period, (I860,) 
the most propitious time to prepare the preliminaries for this scheme, 
whereby we may bring together the interests of the Nation from its utmost 
bounds, and bind them here in this great centre by the strong bonds of 
Political Union, commercial and social intercourse, and a fraternal feeling; 
and this too at a time when the Union is rocked from its centre to its 
circumference, by sectional strife, causing it to reel to and fro like a ship 



RED, WHITE AND BLUE. 27 

upon a stormy ocean, without a helm or compass, to guide her into port. 
Carry out the plan of the ''Union Company," and while the circle of 
circles of cities around us are contending for the Queenship of the West, 
our place (in Washington District, the Emporium of the West,) securely 
seated as it were upon a mighty rock, ahove the moving waters — queen- 
lil-e — there to safely reign as in a fairy land, amidst the flowing rivers, 
and by her enchanting smile, and waving, mystic wand brings to her- 
self and gracefully wears the golden crown as queen, not only of the 
mighty West, but of the great United States. 

In conclusion, we would suggest that the lords of the land, and resid- 
ents general within Alexander and Pulaski counties, adopt as a motto 
" jihQ old adage, that in union there is strength, and their ciy should be : 
consolidate — consolidate — agitate — agitate — union fob ever ! 



SUPPLEMENT TO THE rOREGOING PLANS. 



SUGGESTIONS IN REFERENCE TO A CITY CHARTER, (fee. 

The city authorities should have power to make all necessary street 
improvements, with or without the consent of the individual property- 
holders, and also have power to levy a tax on each front foot of ground 
facing the said improvements ; but shall not have poioer to collect any 
more of the said tax in any one year than would pay the interest, and an 
amount to create a sinking fund sufficient to liquidate the principal, say 
in sixty years, for which term the city should borrow the money for the 
special purpose of making said improvements ; the bonds being predi- 
cated upon the special tax for street improvements. And in like manner, 
the city authorities should have power to make improvements through- 
out the proposed Washington District, and in connection with this, a 
topographical, geological and mineralogical survey. The expense of 
this survey, or any improvements made by the city outside the city pro- 
per, shall be paid in like manner as that for street improvements within 
the city limits. The amoimt for this is to be raised, first, by a loan, pre- 
dicated pro rata per centum tax, levied on the real estate within the dis- 
trict. The per centum would annually decrease as the value of the real 
estate would increase, but the aggregate would be the same. 



28 EED, WHITE AND BLUE. 

Now, let us see how this plan would work without being burdensome 
to any one. It is a well known fact, that money can be borrowed at a 
low rate upon long time, when well secured, as this would be, upon the 
above plan, say, six per cent, per annum ; principal to be paid in sixty 
years. Say a man's lot is taxed one hundred dollars for street improve- 
ments, then his proportion as a sinking fund would be 81,G6|, add 33^ 
cents as a disbursing fund, making in all eight dollars per annum. This 
would be the proportion to each property-holder, for which he would 
have in retui-n a vast increase in value upon real estate and rents, in- 
duced by the increased comfort and facilities for the transaction of busi- 
ness given by said improvements. But this is not all the advantage to 
be gained by borrowing the money on long time, and applying it as 
above. It would, of course, be put into circulation within the city and 
disti'ict, and, of course, it would fall into the hands of the property- 
holders in the course of their business, and be worth at least fifteen per 
cent, per annum. Thus at the end of the year, the annual cost of street 
improvements would be paid for, and there would be still seven per cent, 
profit, and no doubt, at the end of the sixty years (the time for which 
the money was borrowed,) the rent upon the property for one year would 
pay the whole first cost of street improvements. 



INDIRECTLY CONNECTED WITH THE FOEEGOING PROJECT IS THE RECLAIM- 
ING OF THE WHOLE MISSISSIPPI BOTTOM FROM OVERFLOW. 

As previously remarked, the reclamation of the Mississippi bottoms 
should be adopted as a general system of open steamboat canals, by the 
several States through which the I'iver runs, particularly from the grand 
chain to the gulf. In making those canals it will be well to remember 
the well-known fact, that the bottoms universally descend from the river 
back to the bluffs, and there terminate in lagoons and SAvamps. These 
should be drained by converting them into navigable steamboat canals, 
from one navigable tributary to another, following the meandering of 
the highlands on each side of the Mississippi, thence to the gulf. In mak- 
ing those canals, the excavated earth should be thrown to the bottom 
side to form a graded levee, leaving sufficient room between the levee 
and the bluffs for all surplus water. The levee should be pierced by 
sewers with self-acting valves, so arranged that they would open where 
the canal would be low, so as to drain the bottom into it, and shut by 



BED, WHITE AND BLUE. 29 

the pressure of the water, when high. The sewer could be made of 
cypress, which could be conveniently obtained, and would last as sewers 
for ages. The canals could enter the rivers at such an angle as to prevent 
the current from striking into them ; this would also make it convenient 
for boats to pass in and out of the canals ; said canals would drain the 
bottoms, and carry off the small tributaries that now keep up the 
swamps. They would receive the surplus water from the high rivers, and 
give to those that were lower, and thus equalize and distribute the water 
from thence to the gulf. To fence in the Mississippi with levees has 
proved, and must ever prove, a failure, without open canals to relieve them. 
The levees below must cause the water to rise higher above, this will be 
the case every sabbath of floods that comes, unless the plan of open canals 
is adopted. Besides, there should be as many cut offs made as possible, 
to give the sand and sediment a chance to wash out to the gulf. As 
every acre of land cleared, every road and street gutter made, leads the 
water that much more rapidly into the rivers, and in the same propor- 
tion as much more sediment, with the rapidity of growth of timber on 
the bars, must fill up the bed of the river, and cause it to rise higher. 
Hence, the absolute necessity of open canals. True, those canals would 
cost a large sum of money, but the many millions of acres of land re- 
claimed by them would become of the best quality, and aloae would 
soon pay for the cost of improvement. Besides, look at the great ad- 
vantages given by the increased navigation it would afford, by which 
to develop the mineral and agricultural resources of the bluffs, and bring 
irito requisition the vast forests of timber which are now unavailable ; 
in addition, it would add greatly to the health of the valley, saving 
a large percentage in time and money, now lost by sickness. More- 
over, the islands thus formed and protected by open canals and levees, 
would increase rapidly in population and wealth, and would soon 
become, as it were, little principalities, resting securely amidst the rag- 
ing waters, and the planters could sit and smile at the efforts of the 
father of wateYs to oust them from their now secured position. Then, like 
Holland, the laud would be reclaimed from the waters, and become one 
of the most beautiful and richest valleys in the world. 

Here then, is a subject for the political economist to study, and one 
which he should endeavor to bring into practical operation, instead of 
calculating how to gain foreign lands at the cost of hundreds of mil- 
lions of treasure and blood to acquire them ; and what must it cost to 
protect them, scattered as their inhabitants must be, far and wide from 
our own people. It would be, at least, a better theme to study, than 
that of secession from the Union. Combine the Union ever. 



[30] 



APPENDIX. 



Since the foregoing was written, (1860) the Impending Crisis has come 
upon ns, therefore it has since been revised in a few particulars ; but 
that does not alter the merits of the enterprise, but argues more strongly 
the advancement of the proposed plans, and calls loudly to our people, 
in every section of our country, to push forward the great scheme as 
soon as the present emergencies will permit the diversion of their atten- 
tion from the perilous war now inaugui-ated. 

Keep this for future reference, that all men may be posted with regard to 
the foregoing events, as they transpire. As to their fulfillment, we should 
have no doubt, as they are foreshadowed by passing events. The author 
can furnish useful hints in regard to the State and National legislation 
that will be necessary, in order to carry out in detail the plans hinted at 
in the foregoing synopsis. 

The careful reader will perceive that the writer contemplates the foun- 
dation of the grand scheme to be laid by a consolidation or union of 
the Cairo and other incorporated companies interested within the pro- 
posed Washington District, together with the land holders within the 
said district ; their property to be put in at a properly ascertained present 
value; and he further contemplates an arrangement to be made Avith the 
Central Illinois Eailroad Company, that will be mutually advantageous 
to all the parties interested. The Union Company thus formed can, no 
doubt, readily procure the impartial legislation that will be required to 
insure success to this one among the grand enterprises of the age. 

There ought to be no jealousy entertained in the minds of property- 
holders and business men in surrounding cities, for the building of the 
Empire City would imquestionably add greatly to the business of all 
the cities in the Mississippi valley. 

I would here remark, that having conversed with many persons on 
this subject, most of them think the idea a good one, and admit that 
were my plans carried out the)'- would add greatly to the prosperity and 
glory of our country, but they are skeptical in regard to the practica- 
bility of the scheme. They think it very improbable that the different 



APPENDIX. 



31 



incorporated companies, interested in that locality, can Be combined or 
united ; but let skeptics remember tbat men and corporations are gen- 
erally governed in action by what they deem their pecuniary interest. 
In the foregoing pages I have, to a certain extent, endeavored to show 
them that union is their true interest; but the space to which circum- 
stances have necessarily caused me to limit this work will not permit so full 
an investigation of the subject as its importance demands ; yet, perhaps, 
sufficient has been said to awaken the attention of men qualified to 
investigate, and to demonstrate the problem. I think it will not 
require the philosophical talent of a Newton or the mathematical 
acquirements of a Herschel to demonstrate to an intelligent community 
that the scheme is not only practicable, but would prove immensely 
profitable to a Union Company and to the Union of States. 

An examination of a proposed charter, now in my possession, for the 
said Union Company, will contribute to illustrate more fully the above 
facts. 

Any farmers or land-holders within the proposed district, who may 
not wish to take the whole value of their real estate in stock, can receive 
part cash with which to buy land in other localities, equal or perhaps 
better, for farming purposes, while the portion left as stock in the 
Company will produce more income, without labor, than did the entire 
original farm, with labor ; therefore, it is unquestionably the interest of 
all Avithin the proposed district to unite with the above-named Com- 
panies in a Union Company, and thereby secure to themselves and to 
posterity advantages beyond their present conception, and such as would 
appear fabulous if now portrayed. 

JNO. F. SMITH, 

Newport, Ky. 



KEEPERS OF LITERARY DEPOTS 

AND 

ARMY SUTLERS 

Should send in their orders immediately for this work, as it will 

be in good demand, especially by the officers 

and soldiers of our armies. 



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